REPTOMANIA and Jason Stone very bad!!

Just wanted to let you all know Jason's wife told me they would get me a Cashiers check out for 500 bucks and and would have it in writting that they will complete payment to me with in a week. She told me this over the phone yesterday June 24th. Does anyone see anyway they can burn me on this other than just not sending me the money? Does it sound like they are stalling?

Thanks,
Ben

Ben, I don't have a lot of experience with the bad check thing (knock on wood) but I think acceptance of a partial payment hinders any legal avenue you may have down the road if they don't complete the payments.

When I was a member of the Temecula Chamber of Commerce last year there was a guy from the DA's office there specifically to educate business owners about bad checks. http://www.temecula.org/ and if you call them they should be able to give you his contact information. He'll be able to guide you on any particulars to CA or Riverside county law for bad checks.

Ben,

If they are going to make payment arrangements, please have them sign and notarize a promissory note for the full amount first. If it is their intent to pay the money back in full, they will have no problem doing that, and it offers you a layer of protection should the $500 be the only money forthcoming.

DO NOT RETURN THE ORIGINAL CHECK UNTIL THE DEBT IS PAID IN FULL!!! You still have the option of going to the issuing back and placing the check for collection (I believe....you can do that in Colorado, anyway), at which time the bank freezes the account that the check is drawn on until enough money has been deposited to cover the check. I used to manage commercial property, and that worked well with some tenants who liked to bounce rent checks.

Kudos to you for being willing to work something out with them peacefully. It's unfortunate you have had to go through this, but an amicable resolution will be less stressful.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Don't accept a partial payment, there are loopholes in the system regarding that. If they are willing to pay you $500 why not the full amount they supposedly sent you out of the store with when they handed you the check in which there was insufficent funds to start with. If they have been playing these games before then they'll know of the loopholes, these types of people need to be tied down to a payment and everything in writing.

Ben,

Here is how the law works in AZ and I believe it maybe similiar in other States. If you take partial payment for the check, yuo have entered into a civil agreement to allow the issuer to pay the money back. The County Attorney's Office here will not touch a case like that.

Also, you said he asked you to hold onto the check until Thursday. Was the check dated for the day he gave it to you or post-dated for Thursday. This is very crucial. If it was post-dated for Thursday, in effect, you extended to him a line of credit, a loan. Again, this woudl be a civil matter and the County Attorney's Office here will not touch a case like that.

Remember, I am working off of AZ law. I deal with cases like this on a daily basis. The laws in your State maybe quite different. I am telling you this as a guide so you can research and find the correct avenue that you need to follow to resolve this issue. Don't be surprised if your local law enforcement agency tells you it's civil matter and won't help. Civil Cases are much easier to prove than criminal ones anyways. The burden of proof is much less.

Forgot one thing,


DO NOT give the check back until you receive FULL payment. That's your best evidence, guard it well.

Just wanted to let you all know Reptomania has sent me a 500 dollar postal money order and I have it in writing by them that that they will send me another 1000 on July 2nd and rest of it about a week after that. I'll let you know if they really come through and I won't cash this money order until I speak with a lawyer first and see what he says. I've been a little slow about doing that because I didn't really believe they would send me anything.

Ben Rogers

Just curious about the outcome of this. I happened to drive by reptomania yesterday and stopped in. I had no idea they were even there until I was driving down the street and saw their sign. They had some ok looking higher end snakes, some really poor looking lower end snakes and in general did not inspire confidence in their ability.

I did see some tiger and super tiger retic babies though which sparked the old memory about this thread.

Did they ever make good on the bad check?

Wes Pollock

As of right now Reptomania still owes me 1,450. They have promised a couple other payments in the last couple months that never showed.


Ben Rogers

If it were me, it would be time to stop by their shop and collect my animals. People like this are why the BOI is necessary in the first place.